That tip regards cold spots because cracking outside allows cold air in is probably the most informative thing I've taken from these videos. I didn't realise a bit of cracking could cause such problems.
When my boy bought his house he had a problem with damp and mould. He had bought the house off an old boy who probably never opened the windows. I went round with him as he was worried about it. I found one part where the plaster was so wet and blown that it needed to be hacked off and redone. The reason for that was a dodgy repair on the roof which we had fixed. The rest of the house was as you pointed out was condensation, solid walls all round. I explained to him he needs to ventilate the house and get a change of air, even if only for an hour a day to let the house breath. Three months later, no more damp patches, no more mould, problem solved. People don’t realise how much moisture they’re putting into their house just by normal living. If there’s no airflow, it hits the cold surface and just condenses. I recon at least 60 or 70% of damp problems I’ve come across are because people don’t have any air changes in their properties. Great video by the way.
He's going for the world record on how many barriers coats you can you apply to a wall. Bet Peter would loose his shit doing this to a historic property.
In my experience after several years of playing around and trying to solve damp issues in my own house (making similar mistakes) the most overlooked cause of damn is condensation - and especially so in older homes with solid walls. When you see a wet wall after it's been raining it's easy to assume the cause must be rising damp or penetrating damp, but in my experience it rarely ever is. The damp appears when it's raining because the extra humidity is causing water to condensate on the wall. Even what most people think is rising damp I suspect is often just related to the bottom of the wall being cold and therefore condensing. Sam, to your point on calling a professional out, not all damp experts are as good as you. My home has had so many "damp experts" came around and install DPCs to try to prevent damp over the years... And obviously it never works because the cause isn't rising damp. If you own an old property unless you can get someone in you trust you'll often need to learn about this stuff yourself because most experts are a waste of time and a waste of money.
Yes it’s all down to who is diagnosing the problem , there are surveyors who have never actually done the work or installed any of the systems they are recommending so they don’t know there suitability. If you find a good damp surveyor hang on to them and tell others about them too
Hi Sam, very informative video and makes me wonder about an issue in my rental property. I’ve had condensation issues identified by three separate companies but the council (because tenants reported me🙄) think it’s rising damp because there’s a tide mark on the wallpaper in one corner. It’s an external corner wall in a 1964 bungalow with an un-bridged DPC. Could a tide mark actually be caused by condensation or is rising damp a real possibility?
Hello Sam, greetings from Bulgaria! I have a problem with moisture on the walls of basement rooms in a house. The rooms on the first floor of the house are located one meter below the ground surface. Wet spots form at the base of the walls and at their corners (but only on the outer walls), which lead to mold. Years ago, when one of the rooms was intensively heated, there was no problem with moisture and mold. Which makes me think that penetrating moisture may not be entirely the problem. Could it be condensed moisture on the cold parts of the wall? I'm looking for the cause and I'm confused. I'm open to opinions! Thanks!
A soildwall house im working on, where the plasterer has filled Bonding where the sparky chased out his wires, the bonding only always feels and looks damp, from the light switch to the ciling, the rest of the new skim if sound. What you recone?
You don’t seem to like Pete ward ? Does that mean for old solid wall buildings you don’t recommend lime products ? Having renovated 1 flat 135 yr old & 2 houses both 200 yrs old over a 12 yr period using lime from ty Mawr I cannot believe that new methods are even allowed on these buildings they need to be ventilated & to breath . Using masonary paint ,injection damp course ,cement ,gypsum is not the answer. No I am not Pete wards son but his methods work this will not on old buildings.
I have no feeling either way for Peter and iv nothing against lime plasters used correctly, the issue is that modern methods were brought in for a reason and that is for speed and affordability. Not everyone has the time and money to be using traditional techniques.
